Method of manufacturing filaments



H. A. KULJIAN METHOD OF MANUFACTURING FILAMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 18, 1950 Filed Dec. 29. 1947 llllll a: u n I I l f6 I I? I uml XMW ATTORNEY April 18, 1950 H. KULJIAN 2,504,703

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING FILAMENTS Filed Dec. 29 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4a a T F71 2 I y I l I I q ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1950 UNIT-ED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF MANUFACTURING FILAMENTS Harry Asdour Kuljian, Merion, Pa.

Application December 29, 1947, Serial No. 794,324

1 Claim. 1

My invention relates to a machine and method for manufacture of synthetic filament.

One-object of the invention is to produce an improved machine and improved method of the type set forth.

In the manufacture of synthetic filament, the solution is extruded through a spinnerette, having a number of very small orifices, into a coagulating bath and the strands thus produced are gathered, with or without twisting, into a filament. This filament is then subjected to treatment by various liquids. A filament thus produced carries a very large amount of liquid because, in addition to ordinary saturation, each of the strands is surrounded by what may be termed a cylindrical column of liquid which adheres to the filament through surface tension or capillary action.

In the interest of efiiciency, it is desirable to complete the regeneration of the filament, and its drying, in a. continuous manner and on a single thread advancing device which receives the freshly coagulated filament from the coagulating bath. Also, for obvious reasons of economy in material and space, it is desirable to complete the regeneration and the drying of the filament on a thread storing and advancing device which is as short as possible consistent with satisfactory operation.

It is therefore a further object of the invention to produce an improved method and an improved machine whereby the regeneration and the drying of the filament are completed on a relatively short thread storing and advancing device.

A still further object of the invention is to produce means for mechanically removing so. much of the liquid of the filament that the filament may be satisfactorily dried while it traverses a relatively short drying zone located near the take-off end of the thread storing and advancing device.

A still further object of the invention is to produce an improved, simple, practical, and inexpensive apparatus for carrying out the foregoing objects.

These and other objects are attained by my invention as set forth in the following specification and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of an apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a view, partly in section-and partly in elevation, looking in the direction of line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

views showing two slightly difiering embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational showing a still further embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing one manner in which any of the embodiments of Figs. 1 to 7 can be constructed.

An apparatus embodying my invention includes a spinneret'te l0 through which an appropriate solution is extruded, under pressure, into a coagulating bath l2 to produce a filament M. The filament passes over one or more godets I6 and onto a thread advancing device such as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The thread advancing device is formed of a plurality of rolls, RI, R2,

3R3, R4, R5, R6, R1 and R8, one or all of which are rotated by gears G, driven by a motor M. The rolls Rl to R8 are preferably made from a thermo-plastic material such as methyl methacrylate or the like. The axes of one or more of the rolls are skewed with reference to the axis of a central fixed post I 8. The skewing of the rolls causes a filament circumscribing the thread advancing device to move in the form of a plurality, of helices 20, from right to left, as viewed in Fig. 1, when the rolls are rotated. While the filament moves longitudinally of the thread advancing device, it is treated with various liquids to complete its regeneration. These liquids are supplied to the filament by different pipes Pleading from corresponding sources of supply, not shown.

After being treated with various liquids, the filament must be dried. This may be done on the extreme left hand end portion of the thread advancing device, or the filament may be transferred onto other apparatus, not shown, for drying. In any event, the drying of the filament presents a serious difilculty due to the very large amount of liquid which is carried by the file.- ment. This liquid is estimated to be about 300% by weight of the filament, and to remove all of this liquid by evaporation, will take a very long time thus increasing the cost of manufacture.

Transferring the thread onto apparatus, other than the thread-advancing device shown, in-

creases the amount of equipment needed, in-

creases the handling and number of operations, in addition to increasing the time.

If the manufacture of the filament is to be completed. on the thread advancing device shown, up to and including drying of the filament, it will be necessary, in order to insure complete evaporation, to increase the length of the rolls so as to prolong the travel of the filament while it is subjected to the action of the drying medium. It is therefore a prime feature of my invention that enough of the liquid burden of the filament is mechanically removed from the filament when or before it reaches the left hand end, or drying zone, of the thread advancing device, so that the filament can be sufiiciently dried while it is traversing a relatively small drying zone at the left end portion of the thread ad-- vancing device. The filament, after having lost a considerable portion of its liquid burden, can be dried by any suitable means such as a blast of hot air delivered through a pipe 22. By this means, the space necessary for drying is kept at a minimum and the heat necessary for drying is kept at a value that will not damage the filament or the thread advancing device.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, at least two of the rolls such as rolls R4 and R8, are provided with radial holes 26 which lead into a central bore 28. In the bore 28 is a pipe 29 which has a slot 38 and which leads into a manifold 3!. A suction pump 32 is connected to the manifold 3! by means of a pipe 34.

The suction exerted by the pump removes some of the liquid from the filament as it moves past the holes 26 as well as from the portions of the surfaces of the rolls adjacent said holes. Whi1e only the rolls R4 and R8 have been shown in detail, it will be understood that all the remaining rolls are, preferably. similarly constructed.

While removal of liquids from the filament by suction applied in the manner above set forth is quite successful and satisfactory for most purposes, I find that, after the filament has moved past all of the holes 28, its liquid content is still relatively high so that it will require a relatively long time for drying at a temperature to which the heat-sensitive filament, and the heatsensitive thread advancing device, can be safely subjected.

In order to reduce the liquid content to a value which will permit relative quick drying under relatively moderate heat, I provide means for exerting a squeezing or wiping action, or both, on the filament, simultaneously with theapplication of suction thereto. In the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3, I show a hollow pipe 38, to which suction is applied by means of a pump 48, through a pipe 42. The pipe 38 carries a cylindrical perforated member 44 and the portion of the pipe which coincides with the member 44 is also perforated as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. In order to steady the pipe 38, it is provided, near its ends, with supporting rollers 46.

The structure thus far described operates as follows: As the -wet filament moves 'over the thread advancing device, and as the rolls rotate about the pipes 29, liquid will be sucked, by the pump 32, from the filament and from the adjacent surface of the rolls, through the holes'26, the slot 38, the pipe 29 and the manifold 3i. At the same time, the cylindrical member 44 exerts a squeezing and/or wiping action against the filament, as it passes over the roll R4, so as to express liquid therefrom. The liquid thus expressed from the filament is sucked, partly by the pump 32 and partly by the pump 40 which acts on the perforated member 44 through the pipe 42 and through the perforatedportion of the pipe 38 which registers with the perforated member 44. This combined squeezing and sucking action has been found to remove very much more liquid from the filament than can be removed by suction of the pumps 32 and 40, without the squeezing action of the member 44. The member 44 may be of any desired material since the only requirement is that it apply the requisite pressure without scufllng or snagging the filament. To this end, the member 44 may be made of absorbent material such as gauze, or other fabric or it may be made of rubber or porcelain or metal or other substance. Likewise, the member 44 may be rotatable or non-rotatable on the pipe 38.

As above stated, it is within the scope of the invention to provide a perforated member, a pipe 38 and a pump 48 for each of the rolls of the thread advancing device and since this would be mere duplication of the structure shown in connection with roll R4, it is not necessary to illustrate or describe the same.

However, when it is not necessary to equip all of the remaining rolls, it would still be desirable to provide the bottom roll R8, or the adjacent roll RI where liquids tend to collect, due to gravity and to centrifugal force, with a member 44, a pipe 38 etc. in the same manner as roll R4. This is clearly shown in Fig. 2.

In Fig. 4, I show the application of the cylindrical member 44, the pipe 38, etc. to a solid roll R, that is, to a roll which has no bore and no suction applied thereto.

In Fig. 5 a cylindrical member 44' is shown which is made of gauze or porous fabric.

In Fig. 6, a cylindrical member 44" is shown which is made of rubber.

In Fig. '7 I show an arrangement whereby a plurality of members 44, regardless of the material of which they are made, are applied to corresponding portions of the roll. In this arrangement, and in the arrangement of Figs. 5 and 6, the rolls of the thread advancing device can be of the type shown in Fig. 2 or of the type shown in Fig, 4, or some rolls can be of one type and the other rolls can be of the other type.

In Fig. 8, I show an arrangement in which one or more of the rolls of the thread advancing device may be provided with a recess 58 which is adapted to receive a porous, or perforated, compressible or non compressible insert 52. A cylindrical member 44 of any of the typ s above set forth, coacts with the insert 52 to apply combined squeezing and sucking action to the filament. In this arrangement the liquid squeezed from the filament is sucked off through the roll itself, and through the cylindrical member which coacts with the insert 52.

Instead of the pipe 38 being stationary, with the member 44 fixed thereon or rotatable with reference thereto, the pipe 38 can be journalled for rotation about its longitudinal axis and the friction of the member 44 Or-the friction of the supporting rollers 46 with corresponding portions of the rolls of the thread advancing device, or both, may be relied on to effect rotation of the pipe 38 in any or all of the embodiments shown.

5 orsuetionrolluwillbespoeedinwardlyirom thelefthondendoithereeleoasto provide acne through which the filament will travel while being subjected to the selected drying medium.

What I claim is In the drying of a wet filament, the step of causing said filament to travel in the form of a. helix, longitudinally oi a thread storing and advancing device, and the step of squeezing said filament against said device and substantially simultaneously applying suction to the filament in the vicinity oi the point at which the squeezing of the filament takes place for removing the liquid expressed from the filament.

HARRY ABDOUR KULJ'IAN.

Q announces cum The following references are of record in the me of this potent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 953,083 Hoglund Mar. 29, 1910 1,251,173 Beregh Dec. 25, 1917 1,659,708 Rumsch Feb. 21, 1928 1,927,955 schuster Sept. 26, 1933 1,949,237 Bradner Feb. 27, 1934 2,204,603 Kline et al. June 18, 1940 2,209,760 Berry July 30, 1940 Wiegerink Feb. 17, 1948 

